[jdeegan]

Scoring: IMP

3♣-3♠-P-4♠
P-P-P

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Playing in a BBO indy. Partner is a BBO starred player. He leads the club ace. I want my heart ruff. Which club do I play? Does it matter that partner and I are strangers? What would you play sitting opposite your regular partner?

[Winstonm]

I am playing the Queen for two reasons: first, if partner is leading a singleton ace he will take my Q as denying the K and possibly suit preference. If he is leading from Ax, again he will take the Q as denying the K or he may be able to surmise that the clubs are 7321 and take the Q as suit preference.

Although there a 3 clubs in dummy, I would never think the K would be suit preference, only the standard play to show KQ with a 6-card suit or a 7-card suit with no interest in any switch.

[the hog]

Playing with my regular pd, the K of C is clear cut.

[pclayton]

The Q is a little better, since pard not realize you have a 7 card suit. Pard may get a little confused when the J appears, but should be able to work it out.

[paulg]

According to Richard Pavlicek, when following with a known long (5+) suit 'American expert' standard is to play a middle card to encourage the suit with high and low cards being suit preference.

Now I am not an American, nor an expert of Pavlicek's standard, but this looks very sensible to me (as does most of Pavlicek's site).

The ♣Q seems to get the message across here in any cases here.

p

[ulven]

In Scandinavia standard expert practise is using low cards as encouraging and high cards as suit preference, odd normally for high, even normally for lowest. As always, some reverse this meaning.

[Halo]

This is interesting, but I just don't believe a word of it. If I play the King and partner tells me I was encouraging with KQ to six I want a new partner.

[jdeegan]

Halo, on Jan 14 2007, 03:46 PM, said:

This is interesting, but I just don't believe a word of it.  If I play the King and partner tells me I was encouraging with KQ to six I want a new partner.

Alas! Murphy's first law is: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Murphy's second law: Murphy was an optimist.

In real life I played the king and later got a message from partner that the 'king meant nothing' and that I should have played the three. Fortunately, I have learned to be choosy about who I take instruction from. After a little thought, I decided that playing the queen might have been better.

This thread was great. Particularly, the Pavlicek reference and the arguments for playing the queen.

[cherdano]

pclayton, on Jan 14 2007, 09:16 AM, said:

The Q is a little better, since pard not realize you have a 7 card suit. Pard may get a little confused when the J appears, but should be able to work it out.

My reasoning is the opposite. BECAUSE the Jack will appear (or because partner will have it), partner will be able to work out the queen is an unusual card, asking for unusual action.

Normally the queen shows QJT... for me, so if partner can't see the Jack, that's what he will assume. If there were only 2 clubs in dummy, maybe ♣10 would be a better try.

[cherdano]

cardsharp, on Jan 14 2007, 10:51 AM, said:

According to Richard Pavlicek, when following with a known long (5+) suit 'American expert' standard is to play a middle card to encourage the suit with high and low cards being suit preference.

I am curious about this. I doubt most experts would assume this agreement in a pick-up partnership (even though most experts may be using this in their regular partnerships, or would vote for it in s.th. like BWS).

[paulg]

cherdano, on Jan 15 2007, 08:33 AM, said:

cardsharp, on Jan 14 2007, 10:51 AM, said:

According to Richard Pavlicek, when following with a known long (5+) suit 'American expert' standard is to play a middle card to encourage the suit with high and low cards being suit preference.

I am curious about this. I doubt most experts would assume this agreement in a pick-up partnership (even though most experts may be using this in their regular partnerships, or would vote for it in s.th. like BWS).

Richard's standard carding agreements provides the details of when this signalling arrangement applies.

p

[brianshark]

I would play the 9, but I guess I'm the only one.

I'd play it simply because it's the highest non-honour, and because pitching honours seems to have mixed meanings behind them according to everyone's posts. Playing an honour card, particularly an unusual one like the Q could mean anything, maybe partner will interpret is as me having only 6 cards and wanting a continuation?

After reading everyone else's posts, I'll still play the 9 I think!

[brianshark]

Sorry, am I missing something? Did North overcall 3♠ with Qx and a balanced 9 count?

[hawk_eye]

agree with brianshark - I don´t use honours for suit preference unless its inevitable. Now I have 5 "nonhonour" clubs (including 10). The middle one encourage the suit, extremes are suit preference. My choice is the 10.

[whereagles]

If you have an agreement on situations like these, use it. If not the queen seems to be the right card, since it clearly warns pard there's no future in continuing clubs.